A prolific egg thief who caused "huge destruction" to rare and threatened bird species was today sentenced to 12 weeks in jail - suspended for 18 months.
Daniel Lingham, 71, was caught on a wildlife camera last June taking nightjar eggs from a nature reserve near Holt in Norfolk. He described himself as an egg collecting addict and has previously been jailed in 2005 and 2018 after thousands of eggs were found at his home in Newton St Faith near Norwich.
The RSPB said Lingham was a "one-man machine for devastation" who had caused "untold damage" to the populations of some species. Josephine Jones, prosecuting at Norwich Magistrates’ Court said Lingham “said he could not help himself due to his addiction to collecting eggs”.
Presiding magistrate Matthew Watts said: “We believe it’s serious enough that it does cross the custody threshold but because of the realistic prospect of rehabilitation we are going to suspend (the sentence).”
Lingham was also ordered to comply with a 12-month mental health treatment requirement including 15 rehabilitation activity days. He was told to pay £183 in compensation to the British Trust for Ornithology, £145 in court costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
The prosecutor told the court: “These collectors are motivated by an obsessive desire to find and possess eggs. It’s not for financial gain. They’re kept as trophies for personal gratification.
“If the whole clutch (of eggs) is taken and the species is in any way rare, the egg collection will have a damaging effect on the conservation of that particular species,” she said.
James Burrows, mitigating, said: “There’s an extensive history of some mental health issues.” He said Lingham has “expressed being addicted to egg collecting”. “There’s no monetary gain in any of this. It’s that drive, that addiction that keeps people coming back unfortunately.”
The RSPB's investigations officer Mark Thomas said nightjars appeared not to have been producing chicks and "the last thing we need is one man targeting a bird of this importance"
Mr Thomas said: "Conservationists had been wondering why nightjars hadn't been producing young, and why their populations hadn't been increasing at some sites. It makes me feel sick. Nature's in crisis in the UK and the last thing we need is one man targeting a bird of this importance - basically trying to wipe it out in Norfolk.
"This type of offending can't continue; there will be no nightjars in Norfolk left at this rate," Mr Thomas added. Lingham also admitted breaching a criminal behaviour order following a previous conviction.
In June 2023, Lingham was caught by a remote camera, which had been set up to monitor breeding nightjars at Holt Lowes Nature Reserve, removing eggs from a nest. Police said he was identified by his distinctive walking stick. In July, officers supported by the RSPB and National Wildlife Crime Unit raided his home and found native birds' eggs.
A total of 2,995 eggs were found within his home, including 2,429 eggs from native birds in his bedroom. Of those, 548 were from native birds on the amber list of birds of conservation concern, and a further 546 were of the most serious concern on the red list including linnet, green finch, yellowhammer and house sparrow.
A further collection of eggs was found behind a bath panel including a box containing a pair of nightjar eggs with a label “Nightjar 2, Holt Lowes June 9”. Officers also found identifying books, binoculars and an egg-blowing kit.
He admitted at an earlier hearing to five offences, including taking the nightjar eggs and possessing 2,429 eggs of a non-schedule 1 wild bird under the Wildlife and Countryside Act. He also admitted possessing 22 Schedule 1 bird eggs, possessing articles capable of being used to identify and take eggs and breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order which banned him from entering Holt Lowes.
In a police interview, Lingham told officers that his egg collection addiction was a "mental health issue" and that some of the eggs had been found prior to his conviction in 2018.
An RSPB spokeswoman said: "Although egg-collecting incidents have decreased sharply since 2001, when custodial sentences for these offences were introduced some individuals in the UK still engage in these crimes, collecting significant numbers of birds' eggs illegally for purely personal gratification rather than any monetary value."